Autograph letter signed from Gallipoli commander Sir Ian Hamilton 1923

"YOU GET NO THANK YOUS FROM THE WAR OFFICE.
ONCE YOU ARE DONE YOU ARE DOWN AND OUT."
 
[GALLIPOLI, The Great War]; HAMILTON, Sir Ian (1853-1947). Autograph letter signed regarding the War Office and Sir Alex Godley. Dated 5th June 1923.
 
Typed letter signed, Lullenden Farm, East Grinstead, 5 June 1923. Single sheet, typed on both sides, approximately 200 x 160 mm. A couple of manuscript corrections to the second side. Old horizontal fold, light creasing and handling marks, a few small spots and minor edge wear. Very good condition.
 
A letter from Sir Ian Hamilton who offers a stark assessment of official gratitude:
 
"I fear that he who reckons upon the War Office being influenced by anything but direct, specific pressure reckons without his host. You get no thank yous from the War Office unless they have made up their minds they will want you again. Once you are done you are down and out."
 
The passage has particular force coming from Sir Ian Hamilton, who had commanded the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force during the Gallipoli campaign of 1915. Recalled after the failure of the campaign, Hamilton spent much of his later life defending both the original strategy and his own conduct. Written eight years later, the letter reveals the lasting bitterness of a senior commander who believed that official support ended as soon as his usefulness to the War Office had passed.
 
Hamilton also briefly mentions Sir Alexander Godley and his wife, who had recently stayed at Lullenden. Godley had commanded the New Zealand and Australian Division at Gallipoli and later the II ANZAC Corps. A candid letter combining Hamilton's resentment towards the War Office with a contemporary reference to another senior Gallipoli commander.